From PoAndPo Agrifish, December 14:
After decades of increasing human pressures on the Mediterranean and Black Sea marine ecosystems and fisheries resources, the latest data suggest that a corner is finally being turned on overexploitation of the region's vital fish stocks, FAO said.
According to a new report on the State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries (SoMFi 2020) while 75 percent of fish stocks remain subject to overfishing, this percentage fell by more than 10 percent between 2014 and 2018.
Exploitation ratios are down by a similar proportion.
Taking into account newly assessed stocks, the number of fish stocks with high relative biomass has doubled since the last edition published in 2018.
The SoMFI report is published biennially by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) a FAO statutory body which operates under FAO Governing Bodies.The report has been produced by FAO staff within the GFCM Secretariat with the collaboration of select experts and on the basis of the data sent by fisheries administrations along the Mediterranean and Black Sea as well as the analysis carried out by the technical statutory bodies of the GFCM.
While most of the stocks remain overexploited, this is the first time in decades that the GFCM has been able to report some positive trends....
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